Calisa's heart felt heavy in her chest, and a sense of dread enveloped her, like a snake wrapping itself around her lungs, tightening its grip, cold steel becoming like slabs of reinforced concrete, crushing her from all around.
She had never seen eyes like the merchant's, but she had definitely heard the rumors that were whispered among her kind. The Kingslayer, they had called him, who was cursed with a demon's eye and who brought with him absolute ruination and despair. He had killed the royal family, as the bastard son of the King's concubine, leaving the Kingdom in a short period of chaos and frenzy. And then he simply vanished.
Rumors followed in his wake, but only a handful of them held some level of consistency and certitude. Calisa knew that he made it outside the Kingdom of Tyrial since his arrest and execution were never declared. But if he was the real Kingslayer, which Calisa thought he was, what was he doing here?
More importantly, "Why did you show me that?"
He plucked a necklace from the assortment and leaned forward, beckoning her to close the distance between them. She hesitated but followed along with his play, vigilantly. He fastened the jewelry around her neck, sighing in amusement beside her ear. "You are like an elephant when you try to become a mouse."
"You did not answer my question, Kingslayer," her gasp infused with her words, making her voice audibly breathy. Calisa felt the snake in her chest constrict when he settled his hand on the nape of her neck, and she winced briefly from the foreign feeling.
"Yes, seeing as you did not know my identity until I revealed myself, I suppose I should have been more patient. However, I was curious as to why you followed me so closely when I did nothing out of the ordinary, hm?"
Calisa kept silent. In response, he tightened his grip and held her face to his, connecting their gazes. Calisa knew, then, exactly what the foreign sensation that she was feeling was: Fear.
"You previously asked about creating gold from fire," he said as if it explained everything.
Suddenly, it dawned on her. The reason why he allowed her to get a glimpse his identity, which was what his distinctive eyes represented, was because he wanted something from her, perhaps just as much as she wanted from him. Despite the novel emotion of fear, Calisa managed to carve a passive-aggressive smirk onto her lips. The initial shock from recognizing his identity was wearing off, and she fought to regain her composure. "Have you something to sell, merchant? Or have you come to bargain?"
The Kingslayer glanced behind her for a split second before leisurely releasing her. "That'll be thirty thalis, miss. Or two nivves."
Calisa took the mirror he extended towards her, glancing discreetly at the reflection of the other merchants, who watched them with a curiosity that she saw began to lean towards suspicion. Calisa touched the jewel by her throat, pretending to admire the stone, and reached into her wallet, producing two nivves as payment, before she thanked him.
Without another word, she met his oddly serene gaze and walked away with an innocent, feminine bounce injected to her steps for show to thwart the intruding eyes. It irked her that she failed to notice them sooner. Calisa left the commercial center at the heart of the town, hyper-aware of her surroundings as she rejoined the shadows.
The Kingslayer had let her walk away, but their conversation was far from over. She would have to sneak away like she did today, but she would not risk getting caught for it. Her punishment would not be worth neglecting her duties, even if she wanted to finish their exchange.